Old English: Language and History

Description

Discover the force of an old Germanic language! This course takes you to the period from the Viking incursions c. year 800 to the Norman conquest of Britain in 1066. You will learn the basics of English as it was then - a very different language from what it is now. We will study the morphological and syntactic structure of the language, and you will learn to read, translate and pronounce a variety of texts. Language does not exist independently of people and events, and the relation between language and history was especially close in this period. Hence, the course also includes a historical part, in which we focus on the consequences of historical events on the status and development of the English language. This is a course that requires systematic and diligent study throughout the term, but it gives you access to a very interesting linguistic and historical period. Through studying an older stage of the language, you will also be able to view modern English in a new light.